NORWAY MAPLE. 
109 
of the West. In these bottoms, it is one of the most common and one of 
the loftiest trees. 
The leaves are 4 or 5 inches long, and exhibit, in every respect, nearly 
the same conformation as those of the true Sugar Maple. They differ from 
them, principally, in being of a deeper green and a thicker texture, and in 
having more open sinuses; they are also slightly downy, which is most sen- 
sibly perceptible on the main rib. 
The flowers, like those of the Sugar Maple, are suspended by long, flex- 
ible peduncles : the seeds, also, are similar, and are ripe about the same 
time, that is, about the 1st of October. 
The wood is much like that of the other species, but it is coarser grained 
and less brilliant when polished. It is little used, because, wherever it 
abounds, other trees are found, such as the Oak, the Walnut, the Cherry 
Tree, and the Mulberry, which are more esteemed for building and for 
cabinet-making. It is, however, preferred for the frames of Windsor chairs, 
and is considered, after the Hickories, as the best fuel. Its most important 
use is for making sugar of which it annually yields a vast amount in the 
neighborhood of Pittsburg. 
When the Black Sugar Tree stands alone, it naturally assumes a regular 
and agreeable shape. Its foliage, of â darker tint and more tufted than 
that of the other Maples, renders it proper for forming avenues, and for 
adorning parks and gardens ; in short, for every situation where thick shade 
is desired, as a shelter from the sun. 
PLATE XLIII. 
Jl branch ivilh a leaf and seeds of the natural size. 
NORWAY MAPLE. 
Acer platanoides. A. foliis quinque-lobis, acuminatis^ utrinque glabris, 
lohis dentatis : corymbis erectis, pedunculis glabris. 
This species of Maple is found in the same parts of Europe with the 
Sycamore, but it is most multiplied in Sweden and Norway ; whence it has 
received the name of Norway Maple. 
Like the Sycamore, it attains a lofty height, and a diameter of several 
